As the chief operating officer of Miniat Holdings, Matt Miniat has a unique business story: “I sell fat,” he said. Miniat Holdings, based in Bridgeport and operating under its subsidiary South Chicago Packing at 945 W. 38th St., is one of the largest producers of animal cooking fats and oils in the United States. The company is especially recognized for its Wagyu beef tallow, which gained significant attention during the pandemic.
Beef tallow has seen renewed interest recently, being featured in beauty products and highlighted in new federal dietary guidelines released last month by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is among its most vocal supporters. However, South Chicago Packing has been producing tallow since 1972, when the Miniat family purchased the company.
The family’s roots in Chicago’s meat industry stretch back to the late 1800s, when Michael Miniat emigrated from Lithuania and began delivering wholesale meat from local packing houses to butchers throughout Chicago. By the late 1930s, refrigerated trucks replaced horse-drawn carriages, helping expand the business further up the supply chain into processing and marketing meat cuts by the mid-20th century.
In 1972, seeking more processing space, the Miniats acquired South Chicago Packing. At that time, major meatpacking operations were relocating to other states such as Colorado and Texas after the closure of Chicago’s Union Stockyards in 1971. “For us, that was tough because our local source of raw material started to go away and it became very competitive,” Matt Miniat said.
To adapt, Dave and Mike Miniat developed value-added meats using sous vide cooking methods in stainless steel tanks under water—a process that led to a new plant focused on beef, pork, and poultry products.
South Chicago Packing continued using its Bridgeport rendering facilities to produce tallow for sale to other companies before bringing filtering capabilities in-house during the 1980s. The company’s proximity to rail lines remained important for transporting raw materials from suppliers nationwide—many with historic ties to their own processing days.
“The reason Chicago became Chicago is because of the Stockyards, and it’s the Union Railroad that created that,” Matt Miniat explained. He emphasized strong supplier relationships: “I would almost argue our relationships with our suppliers in many cases are closer than those with our customers.”
Currently employing about 145 people at its Bridgeport location, South Chicago Packing renders fat trimmings into products like beef tallow for restaurant chains such as Popeye’s and lard shortening for bakeries.
By late 2019, amid growing interest in specialty animal fats like duck fat among chefs and consumers alike, South Chicago Packing decided to focus on Wagyu beef fat production using high-quality cattle known for rich marbling. When restaurants closed due to COVID-19 restrictions soon after they began production in February 2020, surplus product was sold online through Amazon—and quickly sold out after barbecue influencer Jeremy “Mad Scientist BBQ” Yoder praised it on YouTube.
The popularity extended beyond professional cooks; health-conscious consumers also showed interest. According to Matt Miniat: “I always thought it was fascinating that we have these two complete opposite groups… The big thing they share in common is a focus on high-quality ingredients.” The Mayo Clinic notes that tallow contains vitamins important for immune support and skin health; it can even be used as a moisturizer.
Since expanding into retail markets such as Jewel-Osco, Mariano’s, Whole Foods and Pete’s Fresh Market since 2018—when few home cooks knew about tallow—Matt Miniat noted: “Culinary professionals have always known the benefits of tallow… The real kicker has been people talking about tallow in mainstream discussions.”
In 2023 South Chicago Packing launched what it calls “the world’s first” Wagyu beef tallow cooking spray made from pure beef fat. Matt Miniat recommends this spray as an alternative to olive oil sprays or butter when roasting vegetables or reheating meat: “Hit it with some spray and it comes right back to life” rather than drying out.
He points out that “tallow has one of the highest smoke points you can find,” making it versatile for various recipes—including baking brownies—which he says gain complexity without increasing calorie content per serving compared with traditional fats.
While cosmetic uses are not currently planned by South Chicago Packing, Matt Miniat hinted at new product releases expected later this year: “We have definitely seen animal fats become ‘cool’ again with home cooks… It feels like we’ve been swimming upstream for a long time and finally people are starting to recognize the benefits of beef tallow and lard.”
